Sensors in gloves may deliver KO blow to corrupt judges

A BOXING vest developed in Australia could revolutionise scoring
in the troubled Olympic sport, following approval given by the
international federation to conduct further trials.

Amateur boxing has been handed a mandate of reform by Dr
Ching-Kuo Wu, the new president of AIBA (Amateur Boxing
International Association) and scientists at the Australian
Institute of Sport and CSIRO have moved quickly to promote new
scoring technology, which would rid the sport of corrupt
judges.

Sensors located in the light-weight vest, gloves and head
protector record blows and points are transmitted via wireless
technology to a big screen for viewing by spectators, who also see
the target area where the punch was registered.

Named the Automated Boxing Scoring System (ABSS), the equipment
was developed by AIS and CSIRO boffins, while an Indian
manufacturer was able to insert sensors inside gloves.

Wu and an AIBA delegation witnessed a demonstration in Bangkok
last month during the King's Cup boxing tournament. A Welsh boxer
and one from Korea wore the gear and fought in front of a crowd
including Welshman Terry Smith, whom Wu has installed as the new
chair of the referees and judges commission.

Taiwan's Wu was elected late last year on a mandate of reform
following exposure of corrupt judging at the Athens Olympics. The
previous scoring system, involving judges pressing computer keys to
record scoring blows, was the creation of the former AIBA
president, Anwar Chowdhry of Pakistan.

It was vulnerable to corruption, as bribed judges could
repeatedly press the key of the favoured boxer. Wu's enthusiasm for
the Australian system has much to do with removing anything
associated with Chowdhry.

Following the demonstration in Bangkok, the Australian
delegation was given approval to conduct further trials at the AIS
under the supervision of head boxing coach, Bodo Andreass, who is
well known to Smith.

Wu also offered to arrange competitive bouts in which scoring
would be done simultaneously with the Chowdhry system and ABSS,
ensuring a rigorous test for robustness, accuracy and
reliability.

Professor Allan Hahn, the head of the AIS Applied Research
Centre, said he was greatly encouraged by the success of the
Bangkok trial, saying that for 75 minutes in Bangkok, the AIS and
Australian commitment to assist the development of amateur boxing
was brought to the attention of leading administrators from many
parts of the world.

However, he admitted the system still had gliches, such as the
problem of blocked or deflected blows being scored.

"A boxer scores when the glove of one boxer simultaneously
impacts with the scoring area of another," he said. "A boxer can't
hit his own gloves together and score but we still have a problem
with blocked blows being registered.

"A CSIRO scientist is working with the group to exclude these
punches. We think we are close to a solution to it."

Hahn also conceded the electronics need to be fully resistant to
water, given that it is common for trainers to pour substantial
volumes of water over boxers between rounds.

The wireless data transmission needs to be secure to avoid
interference, a genuine possibility given the inventiveness of past
cheats at Olympic Games to win a verdict.

The system also needs to be capable of immediate "self
diagnosis" of failure in any of its components, lest a boxer whacks
away without scoring.

But perhaps the biggest obstacle to the adoption of ABSS is the
possibility of judges becoming obsolete.

Technology is capable of inserting sensors in gloves for fans to
witness scoring on a screen half the world away but the hardest
thing in sport is to ask men to surrender their blazers.